CIHM 
Microfiche 
Series 
({Monographs) 


ICIMH 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographies) 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


M 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 

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□   Covers  damaged  / 
Couverture  endommag6e 

□   Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pellicul^e 

I     J   Cover  title  missing  /  Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

I I   Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  geographiques  en  couleur 

□   Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

□   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material  / 
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Only  edition  available  / 
Seule  edition  disponibie 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion  along 
interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de 
I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsion  le  long  de  la  marge 
interieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restorations  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have  been 
omitted  from  filming  /  Use  peut  que  certaines  pages 
blanches  ajout6es  lors  d'une  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  6te  fiimees. 


n 


0 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
i\6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire qui  sont  peut-etre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modification  dans  la  m^tho- 
de  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 

I      I  Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 

I I   Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommag^es 


D 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Pages  restaurees  et/ou  pellicul^es 


□    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
Pages  d^color^es,  tachet^es  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached  /  Pages  detach^es 

Showthrough  /  Transparence 

I      I   Quality  of  print  varies  / 


D 
D 


D 


Quality  inegale  de  I'impression 


Incite      ;    .. 


mentary  material  / 
lateriel  supplementaire 


Pages  \/r  or  partially  obscured  by  errata  slips, 
tissues,  c. ,,  nave  been  refilmed  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  totalement  ou 
partiellement  obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une 
pelure,  etc.,  ont  6te  fiimees  a  nouveau  de  fagon  ci 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant  ayant  des 
colorations  variables  ou  des  decolorations  sont 
film6es  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la  meilleure  image 
possible. 


Additional  comments  / 
Commentaires  supplementaires: 


This  copy   is  a  photoreproduction. 
Pagination  is  as  folloHs:      p.    [l],  48-56. 


This  item  u  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below  / 

Ce  document  est  filme  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu^  ci-dessous. 


lOx 

14x 

18x 

22x 

26x 

30x 

1 

/ 

12x 


16x 


20x 


24x 


28x 


32x 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Stauffer  Library 
Queen's  University 

The  imeges  appearing  here  mr»  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  originei  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  art  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grace  i  la 
gAn^rositA  de: 

Stauffer  Library 
Queen's  University 

Les  images  suivantas  ont  itS  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compts  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nenet*  de  l'exemplaire  fiim*.  at  en 
conformit*  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim«e  sont  film«s  en  commencant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derni*re  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film4s  en  commenqant  par  la 
premiire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  compoite  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dee  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  ^^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE '.  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN"'. 

Les  cartes,  plenches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  4tre 
filmis  i  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  I'angle  sup^rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droits, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  la  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

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MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION   TEST   CHART 

ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2l 


^  ■APPLIED  IM/1GE 

=r-  '""'^^    fJ5!    M'jii    it'eet 

S^S  -^QC^ffSlffr.    Ms*     Ye.rl.  U609  u'' 

■^S  ''6)   482  -  0100  ■   Pnone 

^S  ''^6)    288  -  ^989  -  t-'an 


SOME  MERITS  AND  DEFECTS  OF  THE  FRENCH 

SYSTEM 

Pbof.  Wiluam  Bennett  Munro 
Harvard  University 


COLONIAL 


Reprinted  from  the  Pro««lir,,  of  Th.  American  Poli 


tic»l  Science  Aawcmtion,  1907 


I 


SOME  MER,TS  ..r.  n^PECTSOP  '.H.PR.NCH  COLONIAL 
Prof.  William  Bennett  Munro 

Harvard  Univertity 

^-=-X^      n;?=-t-  arSalS^-^t 
a  few  small  islands  in  the  Gulf  o^ll*'';'*  •"emained  in  America  only 
in  Africa  only  Senega    ReulnandMlT""'  '"**  ''''  ^*"''^"»^ 
tically  abandoned);  and  VnT^^ .^^^  u't^T'"  ^'^'  ''*""  P^'^' 
trading  posts  on    he  mainlat  oJ   L       t^"^  "^^  ^  ^^^  ^"'all 
to  >-ield  her  place  among  the  Lit  "I"'-      ''"''  '^'^  ^^^"  '^'•^"J 
The  course  of  events  dunn^Thrn?""'"^  P°^'^"  °^  the  world, 
on  more  than  one  oZ'^ZV^l^.^^^T^^  T^'"'  'T'^^^'  ^- 
erative  power  of  the  French  neonL     T^       ^"^  marvelous  recup- 
has  tlu.s  pov.or  been  sZlt  Zni^  the  i"  "^i  '""^  ^^""^'"^  ^'''^P-* 
esls  beyond  the  sea...     Throuch^Kp  „       .*^^^^'«P'"^"t  of  new  inter- 

important  territories  in  lea  a„d  r^'"'""  ''  """"'  '"'  "*'''' 
over  Tunis,  Madagascar  and  exJeni  "^'""P^'""  "^  protectorates 
French  have  regain^  for  t htm    .  T^""""  '"  ^"do-China,  th^ 

tu  ":^r- -  ^:;-^-  --.  t^l^^for.  a  de^ , 

domains  of  French  admiration      1!^^:^""  ''  ^'"^  '"  '^'  ^'^''''' 
tive  colonization  will  flnHn  thlL      .         ""'  ''"^'"*  ofcompara- 
Properlv  be  looked  u  "on    ven  aT  !Te  ^^^^^^^ 
after  1815  the  old  idea.s  of  coLtl  ^^'  "^  '^'  ^''^  ^^'''^me;  for 

of  centralized  controlwle  ,otr  !b  '°7T'"*  ""^ ''''  "''^  '"^thods 
old  colonial  svstem  and  the  new  ..t"'^-"'  '"  '^"^^  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^e 

One  import'ant  featte  wWh  T'S  V'"^'"  '^°""^^*'"S  link. 
French  colonies  be    r    the  R^^oluTion       '"it  administration  of  the 
secure  absolute  uniform  tv  in  the "1      "''  '\'''<^^'<^^^  endeavor  to 

-Mittie  pro..on  for':^r^:r;:::-l;;;;r  ^^:^^^ 

48 


AMERICAN    POLITICAL   SCIENCE    ASSOCIATION  40 

enormous  disparity  in  point  of  environment  and  in  the  kind  of  prob- 
lems l.kely  to  anse,  the  French  dominion,  in  Canada,  for  inst^ce 

hke  those  employed  m  India,  and  were  subjected  to  almost  the  same 
supervisory  methods.  The  home  government,  as  De  TocquevilleZ 
remarked  essayed  to  take  the  place  of  Providence  by  applZgiTs 
mfalhble  formulas  of  administration  to  ail  the  Bourbon  depenZcJ^ 

This  passion  for  uniformity  and  symmetry  the  French  have,  indeed 

TZ^  7T  T'''  ««'^«°f ''-temporaryhomeadminStratSn; 
notaWy  into  the  sphere  of  local  government;  for  one  finds  more  than 
36  m  communes  ,1th  populations  ranging  from  fifty  to  half  a 
rn^hon,  all  provided  with  the  exactly  same  administrative  machiaerj 
cdonT'T^  m  precisely  the  same  way.  In  the  contempora^ 
CO lomal  sj^tem   of  France,   however,   this  inelasticity  is  Li^ 

^ow  !.         ■    K^  ^""'^  '^'  ^'P^"^^'^-  *^^*°"««  °f  the  republic  Z 

'    Ld  dSo'l"?.  ^"i''V''  ^'^^«°'>'  ''  "^^^P^''*'  dependencies," 

and  a  though  they  differ  from  one  another  far  less  widely  than  did 

the  colomes  of  the  old  regime,  no  serious  attempt  is  made  to  conform 

he  administration  of  all  to  any  single  plan  or  theory.    On  the  cT- 

trary  the  present  system  exhibits  entire  flexibility  both  in  the  meth- 

otht  :ir;;t:^t' *'^" ''-'- '-''''  -'  ^  ^'^  -«-^-^- 

AJgena,  the  most  important  of  the  French  depends  icies,  is  treated 
as  an  mtegral  part  of  France.     Like  the  other  local  units  of  the  repuS 

hi   ts  s^r?""        '"^'''^'^°°  "^  '^'  '"^'^'^^^  °^  *^«  '°t«"0''  it 
ori;  ,  .        K     "P:^«°**ti°°  i*^  the  French  parUament;  and  its 
orgamzation,  both  of  departmental  and  of  local  government   con 
orms  generally  to  that  of  France  itself.    The  prot'ectorZincLJ- 
mg  Turns  and  the  larger  part  of  Madagascar,  are  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  but  they  retain  their  u^ 
loca    orgamzation.     All  the  remaining  French  territoriesltre  c^ 
onies  proper-are  in  charge  of  the  minister  of  colonies.     There  is 
stronJv'^S^'h'  decentralization  of  control  which  contrasts  very 
even  Ijth    h         ''''''''''  centralization  of  the  old  dominion,  and 
br2l^     f^    ^'fy  ^^"^'"^trical  policy  which  characterizes  ^ther 
branches  of  French  administration  at  the  present  day.    This  division 

IXnch"',"-'?'  T'^'  '""  -i-'^t-g--;  ^or  it  hi^elpTtS 
r..!r  .  ^u  -P"'''^  '°  '^'  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries 
an  elasticity  which  it  utterly  lacked  in  the  eighteenth,  and  it  h^ 


I 


S2385 


50 


PUOrEKDINOS   OF  THE 


likewise  served  to  mitigate  that  pernicious  faith  in  administrative 
shibboleths  whit  h  has  too  often  been  the  curse  of  French  politics  both 
at  home  and  abroad. 

One  feature  which  serves  to  distinguish  the  present  colonial  system 
of  France  from  that  of  Great  Britain,  Germany  or  the  United  States, 
is  the  practice  of  giving  to  dependent  territories  a  certain  representa- 
tion in  the  official  councils  of  the  mother  state.  Algeria,  being  re- 
garded as  part  of  France,  has  of  course  its  quota  of  representatives- 
three  senators,  representing  the  three  departments  of  Algiers,  Oran, 
and  Constantine,  and  six  deputies,  selected  two  from  each  depart- 
ment. The  election  procedure  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the 
same  as  in  France,  the  franrhise  being  confined  to  Frenchmen  and 
naturalized  Europeans. 

The  protectorates,  including  Tunis,  have  no  representation  at  all 
in  the  French  parliament  although  the  degree  of  control  exercised  over 
them  is  fully  as  great  as  in  several  other  territorial  dependencies. 
Of  the  score  or  mor<-  of  "colonies  proper,"  only  sejren  have  the  right 
to  send  representatives'— Martinique,  Guadaloupe,  French  Guiaca, 
Senegal,  French  India,  and  Cochin-China;  to  others  not  less  impor- 
tant—as Tonkin,  Cambodia,  Dahomey,  French  Congo— no  rights  of 
representation  are  given.  For  this  discrimination  there  are  historical 
reasons  only.  The  colonies  represented  are,  H  will  be  noted,  the 
older  dependencies,  which  acquired  their  right  during  a  period  when 
the  idea  of  a  gradual  assimilation  of  the  colonies  to  the  mother  coun- 
try was  regarded  as  the  true  goal  of  colonial  administration.  This 
idea,  indeed,  dominated  French  statesmanship  until  less  than  two 
decades  ago,  when  it  gave  place  tc  the  notion  that  neither  assimilation 
nor  yet  mere  exploitation,  but  a  mean  between  the  two,  should  be 
attempted.  Of  late,  therefore,  the  French  authorities  have  not  looked 
with  favor  upon  any  movement  to  carry  the  system  of  colonial  rep- 
resentation to  its  logical  conclusion  by  according  the  privilege  to  the 
newer  colonies.  On  the  contrary,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  it  has 
been  seriously  proposed  ♦o  withdraw  the  right  of  representation  from 
those  colonies  which  now  possess  it. 


'The  privilege  of  sending  representatives  was  first  accorded  to  tf  e  colonies 
during  the  Revolution;  but  it  was  abolished  by  the  constitution  of  tae  year  viii 
and  was  not  restored  till  1848.  In  1852  it  was  again  supp'  jssed  by  the  Second 
Empire,  but  was  reestablished  in  1870  by  the  government  of  the  national  defense, 
which  in  1875  made  it  a  constitutional  fixture.  Since  then  decrees  regulating  its 
exercise  have  been  issued  from  time  to  time. 


AMERICAN    POLiriCAL  SCIENCE    ASSOCIATION 


61 


Am.  ng  thp  seven  colonies  now  holding  the  privilege,  no  rational 
basis  of  representation  is  established,  senators  and  deputies  being 
allotted  without  any  due  regard  'it  differences  in  population,  in  area, 
-in  wealth,  or  in  contributions  to  the  national  exchequer.    The  dis- 
t  .-ibution,  so  far  as  it  goes,  rests  upon  a  purely  arbiti  ry  basis.     Mar- 
tinique, Guadaloiipe,  and  Reunion  have  each  one  senator  and  two 
deputies;  French  Indiahaaone  senator  and  one  deputy;  French  Guiana, 
Senegal  and  Cochin-China  have  each  a  deputy  but  no  senators.     Thus 
the  three  small  islands  of  Martinique,  Guadaloupe  and  Reunion  have  a 
larger  representation  than  that  of  all  the  other  colonies  put  together,  a 
share  which  is,  indeed,  equal  to  that  of  the  whole  dependency  of  Algeria. 
That  Algeria,  with  its  five  milh'ons  of  population,  should  be  entitled 
to  nc  greater  representation  than  the  three  islands,  with  only  five 
hundred  thousand,  is  a  proposition  so  difficult  to  maintain,  that  the 
coJonJes  have  in  some  quarters  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  "rotten 
boroughs"  of  the  French  political  system.     Any  attempt  at  a  redis- 
tribution would,  however,  serve  only  to  open  the  whole  question  a.s 
to  the  merits  and  defects  of  the  system  of  colonial  representation,  a 
discussion  which  none  of  the  leading  French  poUtical  parties  seem 
to  desire. 

The  method*  by  which  the  various  dependencies  select  their  rep- 
resentatives afford  further  illustrations  of  the  elasticity  of  the  s>'stem. 
In  Algeria,  as  has  been  said,  the  natives  do  not  vote  at  all.  In  Mar- 
tinique, Guadaloupe,  and  Reunion  they  hold  the  franchise  on  equal 
terms  with  Frenchmen,  and  the  same  is  substantially  true  of  Senegal. 
In  French  India  and  in  French  Guiana  they  have  a  right  to  vote,  but 
not  on  equal  terms  with  the  French  inhabitants:  yet  even  with  the 
handicap  they  hold  a  dominant  hand  in  the  elections.  In  Cochin- 
China  they  are  almost  entirely  shut  out,  and  the  French  residents  ire 
in  control.  The  arrangements  in  each  case  are  made  by  special  decrees 
issued  from  time  to  tiJie  .since  1870,  each  seeking  to  meet  the  circum- 
stances of  the  particular  colony  in  question. 

E.\cept  for  this  variation  in  the  francliibe  from  colony  to  colony,  the 
electoral  methods  pursued  in  the  dependencies  are  much  like  .hose 
at  home.  Voting  lists,  compiled  under  the  same  sort  of  regulations, 
are  used  both  in  the  election  of  deputies  and  in  the  local  elections; 
tl  voting  takes  pUce  (except  in  Senegal)  by  written  ballot;  the 
colonial  representatives  are  paid  out  of  the  national  purse,  and  they 
enjoy  at  Paris  all  the  privileges  and  legal  immunities  of  the  regular 
French  members  of  parUament.     In  the  chambers  they  possess  the 


52 


PKOCEED1N08   OK  THE 


right  to  discus8  and  to  vote  upon  every  project,  whether  it  is  likely 
to  affect  the  interests  of  the  colonies  or  not,  a  right  which  they  have 
nut  hesitated  to  use. 

Although  the  system  of  colonial  representation  has  not  been  with- 
out its  very  distinct  advantages,  particularly  in  affording  the  colo- 
nies a  recognized  official  channel  through  which  their  grievances 
might  be  effectively  set  forth,  it  has,  without  doubt,  fallen  far  short 
of  expectations.  In  a  senate  of  three  hundred  and  a  chamber  of  six 
hundred  members,  the  colonial  representatives  form  so  insignificant 
an  element  that  their  voting  strength  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  make 
their  support  worth  the  interest  of  any  of  the  leading  political  fac- 
tions. During  the  last  decade  they  have  swung  mainly  into  the  ranks 
of  the  ocialist  party,  and  have  on  the  whole  found  place  more  gen- 
erally among  the  opponents  than  among  the  supporters  of  the  admin- 
istration. On  somewhat  rare  occasions  men  i>t  marked  ability  have 
been  sent  to  Paris  from  the  colonies;  but  in  the  main  the  colonial 
senators  and  deputies  have  not  risen  to  the  general  level.  In  this 
respect  one  marks  a  notable  contrast  between  the  delegation  from 
the  colonies  and  the  little  group  sent  regularly  from  Alger  ,  the 
latter  deputation  setting  a  distinctly  high  standard,  and  in  the  con- 
siderable number  of  members  which  it  has  furnished  to  recent  French 
ministries  fully  justifying  its  existence.  That  the  colonies  proper,  on 
the  contrary,  have  not  on  the  whole  risen  to  their  opportunities  in  the 
matter  of  representation  is  shown  by  the  caliber  of  the  men  whom 
they  sometimes  choose,  men  like  the  Indian  deputy  from  Pondicherry, 
for  instance,  whose  corrupt  manipulations  became  a  public  scandal, 
or  like  the  negro  deputy  from  Martinique  who,  after  his  election, 
refused  to  proceed  to  Paris  because  he  had  been  warned  by  spirits  not 
to  venture  upon  the  seas. 

Not  infrequently  the  colonies  select  as  their  representatives  men 
who  have  already  taken  an  active  part  in  French  politics  at  home; 
but  in  the  main  this  practice  is  not  followed.  In  either  case,  the 
objection  is  often  made  that  the  colonial  deputies  interest  theniselves 
too  prominently  in  the  purely  domestic  politics  of  the  republic,  and 
.00  frequently  lose  sight  of  the  special  colonial  interests  which  they 
are  supposed  to  guard.  One  is  often  reminded,  in  this  connection,  of 
the  important  occasion  upon  which  a  French  ministry  was  ousted 
from  office  upon  an  interpellation  relating  to  a  purely  local  matter, 
the  sponsor  for  which  was  the  deputy  for  Cochin-China.  Although 
this  colonial  deputy  was  perfectly  within  his  parliamentary  rights  in 


AMERICAN    POLITICAL   SCIENCE    ASSOCIATION 


53 


eml)orras8ing  the  government  at  a  very  critical  muiuent  upon  a  qi;»»s- 
tion  relating  to  a  cen  .al  mairie  for  Paris,  many  .  renchmen  naturally 
ventured  to  raise  the  question  whether  his  energies  might  not  have 
been  more  appropriately  employed.  From  the  very  nature  of  things, 
a  colonial  representative  enjoys  in  parliamentary  circles  a  certain 
amount  of  prestige  and  special  influence;  and  these  advantages,  it 
is  claimed,  he  too  often  uses  improperly. 

The  methods  by  which  a"  ators  and  deputies  are  selected  in  the 
colonics  have  also  been  r^  jr  harshly  criticised.  There  are  those, 
indeed,  who  urge  vigorou."'  and  with  a  good  deal  of  <•  nctantial 
evidence  to  support  them,  that  'he  colonial  represer  io  not 

in  many  cases  faithfully  reflect  the  public  opinion  •  colcnies 
from  which  they  are  accredited.  In  support  of  these  ai  r^'ations,  it  is 
poi  t «h1  out  that  the  natives  who  have  voting  rights  d  o  not  exercise  these 
rigi/  5  in  any  reasonable  degree.  The  proportion  of  polled  to  regis- 
tered votes  is,  no  doubt,  discouragingly  .small  in  almost  all  the  colonies 
at  every  election;  and  this  is  not  b<  ause  the  French  element  in  the 
colonies  sieks  in  any  sinister  way  to  throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
native  voting.  On  the  contrary,  it  appears  that  rival  French  leaders 
very  eagerly  exploit  the  native  vote,  and  are  frequently  charged  with 
brinfiing  natives  to  the  polls  through  corruption,  undue  influence,  or 
even  open  intimidation.  Were  thenative  voters  left  alon<>,  it  is  believed 
that  even  the  present  meager  •^bowing  (vould  be  considerably  reduced. 

In  view  of  the  small  percentage  of  native  votes  polled,  and 
especially  in  view  of  the  notorio'  activity  of  French  officials  in 
connection  with  the  colonial  ele.  -ns,  it  is  indeed  questionable 
whether  the  colonial  dep 'itip.«  sumetimes  represent  much  more 
than  the  official  class  m  .he  colonies.  The  influence  of  this  large 
official  ciass,  p°-^icularly  a\\  the  native  leaders,  is  obviously  very 
great,  and  no  *  j  .t  is  usualV  exerted  to  the  full  in  an  endeavor  to 
secure  the  election  of  reprc-sentatives  satisfactory  to  itself.  It  has 
been  shown  in  a  parliamentary  investigation  in  Senegal  that  these 
functionaries  make  their  arrangements  with  the  native  chiefs,  who 
conduct  their  followers  in  bands  to  the  polls,  where  they  indicate 
their  choice  according  to  instructions  The  chit-fs.  it  seems,  are  the 
only  factors  to  be  reckoned  with,  each  village  headman  having  a  vot- 
ing strength  of  one,  two,  or  three  hundreil  ballots,  as  the  case  may  be. 
The  whole  proceeding  thus  becomes  a  farce  electorcUe,  the  representa- 
tive chosen  being  usually  some  one  whom  the  native  voters  have 
never  seen  and  of  \  liom  m^st  of  them  have  never  heard.     Cases  are  on 


54 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE 


record  in  which  deputies  have  beenrhosen  to  represent  colonies  which 
they  have  never  even  visited,  their  electoral  campaigns  being  man- 
aged by  officials  on  the  ground.  The  deputy,  owing  his  election  to 
the  officials,  is  thereby  committed  to  their  support;  and  the  exertion 
of  influence  proceeds  in  a  circle,  sometimes  with  exceedingly  vicious 
efTects. 

In  all  the  represented  colonies  except  Cochin-China  the  native 
element  has  a  decisive  numerical  preponderance;  and  even  where  it 
has  not  equal  weight  with  the  French  it  is  nevertheless  stxong  enough 
to  control  the  elections.  This  the  French  inhabitants  regard  as  a 
substantial  grievance;  for  thp  natives  contribute  only  insignificant 
sums  to  the  exchequer,  and,  with  a  few  unimportant  exceptions,  fur- 
nish no  recruits  to  the  military  establishment;  whereas  the  colonial 
Frenchmen  bear  the  brunt  of  financial  and  miUtary  burdens,  and 
yet  are  allotted  only  a  minor  share  in  the  choice  of  those  who  assume 
to  represent  the  wishes  of  the  colony  in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 
Hence  the  system  which  was  designed  to  harmonize  the  interests  of  the 
two  elements  in  the  colonies  seems  to  have  exerted  an  influence  in 
exactly  "he  opposite  direction.  As  a  theory,  tho  extension  of  the 
franchise  to  tropical  natives  had  much  that  served  to  commend  it 
to  the  French  people,  particularly  in  view  of  the  prevailing  demo- 
cratic temper  of  1848  and  1870;  but  in  its  practical  workings  it  has 
been  productive  of  discontent,  anomalies  and  even  abuses.  Paul 
Leroy-Beaulieu  does  not  hesitate  to  condemn  the  electoral  svstem 
of  the  colonies  as  an  "absurd  institution;"  and  there  seems  to  be  a 
growing  conviction  that  there  is  ample  room  for  its  reform. 

One  aspect  of  the  question  which  has  elicited  discussion  in  recent 
years  relates  to  the  bearing  which  the  system  of  colonial  representa- 
tion ha^  upon  the  question  of  political  development  within  the  colo- 
mes  themselves.  In  the  colonies  of  France  the  march  to  colonial 
autonomy,  or  toward  an\nhing  approaching  autonomy,  has  been 
extremely  slow;  in  none  of  them  is  there  yet  the  faintest  recognition 
of  this  principle.  Elective  assemblies  have,  it  is  true,  long  since 
been  established  in  several  of  the  dependencies;  in  some  the  members 
of  these  local  bodies  are  elected  on  a  basis  of  manhood  suffrage 
pure  and  simple,  in  others  by  complicated  plans  which  provide,  or 
attempt  to  provide,  for  the  representation  of  interests  rather  than 
for  the  reprc.><entaticn  of  numbers;  but  in  none  is  the  elective  organ 
able  to  exercise  any  important  control  over  the  actions  of  the  execu- 
tive.    One  may  even  doubt  whether  the  influence  of  these  elective 


\ 

i 

'I 


\ 


AMEKICAN    POLITICAL   SCIENCE    ASSOCIATION 


55 


organs  over  the  conduct  of  administration  is  a  whit  greater  today 
than  it  was  when  the  system  of  local  representative  government  was 
inaugurated— in  some  cases  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.     It 
is  now  over  sixty  years  since  we  were  assured  by  Lord  Durham,  in 
his  epoch-marking  Report  on  the  Affairs  of  British  North  America,  that 
the  grant  of  representative  government  to  a  colony  must  be  followed 
in  time  by  the  grant  of  responsible  government.     It  is  a  vain  illusion, 
Durham  declared,  to  expect  that  those  who  represent  the  people 
in  any  colony  will  permanently  content  themselves  with  a  mere 
voice  in  legislation;  they  will  inevitably  insist  upon  administrative 
control.    That  the  one  fact  does  not  as  assuredly  and  as  readily 
follow  the  other  as  Durham  supposed,  ♦he  history  of  the  French 
dependencies  seems  to  show;  and  it  is  j^ossible  that  the  practice  of 
affording  the  colonies  a  liberal  representation  in  the  home  parliament 
has  not  been  without  its  influence  in  this  direction.     One  of  the  most  (\ 
powerful  among  the  various  causes  which  assisted  in  securing  polit-  j 
ical  autonomy  for  the  larger  colonies  of  Great  Britain  was  the  tardy,   \ 
but  none  the  less  effective,  recognition  by  the  British  parliament  of 
its  owTi  ignorance  and  utter  helplessness  in  dealing  vvith  the  local 
problems  of  distant  colonies.     Had  the  British  parliament  numbered 
among  its  own  members  men  who  held  mandates  from  the  colonial 
possessions,  this  recognition  of  helplessness  would  in  all  probability 
not  have  come  so  soon,  and  parliament  might  reasonably  have  con- 
tinued to  assume  its  ability  to  legislate  intelligently  for' the  various 
colonies.     It  is  true,  one  riuy  hasten  to  add,  that  political  conditions 
in  the  French  and  British  colonies  differ  so  v.idely  as  to  forbid  one  to 
reason  from  analogy;  but  the  fact  seems  to  remain  that  anvthing  . 
which  serves  to  foster  in  the  minds  of  home  legislators  an  idea  of  i 
their  own  capability  to  deal  with  the  local  affairs  of  distant  depend-  > 
encies  must  in  the  nature  of  things  have  its  place  among  the  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  colonial  autonomy. 

The  French  government  of  the  present  day,  therefore,  aware  that 
a  half  century  of  experience  has  not  served  to  stamp  with  marked 
success  its  ventures  along  the  path  of  political  assimilation,  fines 
itself  in  the  somewhat  awkward  predicament  of  not  being  ready  to 
carry  the  principle  of  colonial  representation  to  its  logical  conclusion. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  ea.<i!y  withdraw  the  rspresefttative 
privilege  from  those  colonies  to  which  it  has  been  accordetl;  for  the 
system  has  come  to  lie  regarded,  both  in  France  and  in  the  colonies, 
as  an  incident  of  republicanism,  sintt-  it  was  established  by  the  first 


r 


56 


PROCEEDINGS 


republic,  revived  by  the  second,  and  macJe  a  constitutional  fixture 
b^Jiifi^hifd.  For  sentimental  reasons,  then.^iTTor  nothing  more, 
the  elimination  of  the  colonial  representatives  need  hardly  be  looked 
for  in  the  very  near  future.  The  French  have  halted,  accordingly, 
between  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  systems,  which  accord  repre- 
sentation to  all  dependent  territories,  and  the  British  system,  which 
\grants  representation  to  none. 

Whatever  the  outcome  to  the  colonies  may  be,  to  the  student  of 
comparative  colonization  the  experiment  in  colonial  representation 
has  not  been  without  its  distinct  value;  for,  though  it  is  not  safe  to 
generalize  broadly  from  the  working  of  a  system  which  has  scarcely 
had  a  complete  or  sj-mpathetic  trial,  it  is  certain  that  the  difficulties 
encountered  by  France  are  substantially  those  which  are  likely  to 
be  encountered  by  England  or  by  any  other  country  which  attempts, 
on  a  broad  scale,  to  inaugurate  and  maintain  any  plan  of  imperial 
federation  which  gives  the  colonies  representation  in  the  home  par- 
liament.    The  difficulties  involved  in  securing  an  equitable  basis  of 
representation,  the  questions  how  fa-  and  under  what  handicaps 
tropical  natives  should  share  in  the  right  to  elect,  the  problem  of  pro- 
tecting the  natives  against  politi  'il  exploitation  and  of  holding  the 
political  activities  of  colonij*!  functionaries  within  proper  bounds,  as 
well  as  the  bearings  of  oiuch  a  system  upon  the  political  development 
of  the  dependencies  tLemselves— these  are  matters  upon  which  French 
experience  throws  considerable  light.     France  was  made  to  do  ser\-ice 
in  the  nineteenth  century  as  a  "  laboratory  for  political  experiments;" 
and  her  experiments  in  the  direction  of  the  political  assimilation  of 
dependent   territories,  although  they  have  perhaps  failed  to  attract 
their  proper  share  of  public  attention,  have  not  been  without  impor- 
tant value  to  students  of  comparative  politics. 


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